VOL 5 Test 1 - Starting a business IELTS Listening Answer Key & Explanations

VOL 5 Test 1 - Starting a business

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Arthur Jones: Good evening, my name is Arthur Jones. I'm very glad to have this opportunity to speak to you over the radio. The host asked me to give a talk about my experience of starting my own business. I can't say my business is successful, but there are some things that I want to share with you, which I think will be helpful if you want to start your own company.

I've talked to many young people, and they told me that they are afraid of making mistakes when they start their business. What I want to say is that mistakes are very common, especially when you do something new. 1Mistakes can actually show you where you need to improve, so you can take actions about them and use the chance to learn new methods. This is a very important attitude you should have. Besides, most mistakes are not that fatal. Don't be too anxious when they occur.

Next, I want to go on to talk about self-confidence, which is quite important in achieving business success. Being self-confident means that you can have faith in yourself. Self-confidence can be gained through hard work, even playing sports. 2However, sometimes self-confidence may make you ignore problems and even cause failure. Business leaders should remain calm and not take impulsive actions. I know that when people start their business, they have confusions. They don't know how they can be more professional. They read business journals or watch related videos, but these don't seem to help sometimes.

My suggestion is that, instead of aimlessly trying many new things, 3they should always be committed to their goal. As long as they stick to it, they will not be easily distracted or confused by other things, and they are sure to get better. We will all meet difficulties, especially at the beginning. We can't always rely on ourselves to solve all the problems. I had a problem with marketing earlier this year. 4Luckily, I found an expert to help me deal with it.

So, there's always a way. But we should know how and when to seek help from these people. Business leaders have different kinds of styles. Some are very good at public speaking. Others are very down-to-earth and have strong executive skills.

But in general, 5they should be able to win the respect from their employees so that they can carry out their orders more easily. There are times when a company might face risks. During such times, leaders will need to take prompt actions. And they can't always plan for distant future. 6Leaders should analyze and deal with the risks with caution. If they bear this in mind, there is always a way out.

At the beginning of my business, I experimented with quite a few strategies, hoping to find out the best solution for my business. Here is what I found. At first, my company wanted to work out prices for the products and make them realistic. However, prices are always changing, so they can't be fixed.

Another thing I always keep in mind is that 7leaders must stay committed to their jobs. Without enough commitment, you may easily give up when problems happen. I have some friends whose businesses didn't survive during difficult times. It wasn't because they were stupid. It was just a lack of commitment. I can't always be sure that my products or services are better than my competitors, but 8I pay attention to details and try to improve all the little things, as they can actually make a big difference. You might worry that you don't have a very clear and sophisticated business strategy.

Personally, I don't think it's a problem, because you will be changing them all the time anyway. In terms of support, at any stage, we do need support from others to back up our business. The support can really make a difference. 9Before I started my business, my family helped me a lot, both financially and mentally. There were also people who gave me advice on how to run businesses successfully.

However, this advice and ideas were not so practical to me, so I didn't really use them. Looking back, I felt lucky that I followed my own way of thinking. 10Also, I was short of funds back then, and I loaned money from the bank to start my company. I was grateful for that.

That's what I want to share in today's program. If you have any questions for me, please send it to my email, which is...

Questions 1-6

Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.

1What is the most important attitude towards making mistakes according to Arthur?

A. Mistakes are inevitable.

B. Mistakes can be a chance to learn

C. Mistakes can cause serious consequences.

2What's true about self-confidence according to Arthur?

A. self-confidence sometimes leads to failure

B. It means being ambitious with what you do

C. Self-confidence can be gained through reading

3What advice does Arthur give to new business leaders?

A. Read business journals

B. Try new things

C. Keep their aims

4How does Arthur deal with difficult problems?

A. Ask for advice from friends

B. Seek help from experts

C. Try to get advice from books

5What's the common quality of leaders?

A. Have good public speaking skills

B. Solve all problems skillfully

C. be respected by the workforce

6How should companies take risks?

A. deal with them carefully

B. be financially advantageous

C. think in the long run

Questions 7-8

Choose TWO letters, A-E

Which TWO factors are important when starting a business?

A. fix realistic prices

B. create products better than the competitors'

C. be committed

D. pay attention to detail

E. apply complete strategy

Questions 9-10

Choose TWO letters, A-E

Which TWO kinds of support are important for Arthur?

A. family support

B. good business advice with new ideas

C. support of the bank loan

D. friends' support

E. governmental funding

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